On Friday night, Nevada played a poor first half, couldn't seem to buy a 3-point basket, trailed by as many as 15 points -- and still beat the No. 20 team in the country with authority.

The No. 6 Wolf Pack outscored Arizona State in the second half, 48-30, and went on to beat the Sun Devils, 72-66, in the nightcap of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic triple-header at Staples Center.

Nevada improved to 9-0 and remained one of the nation's 10 unbeaten teams. Arizona State dropped to 7-1 and fell from those same unbeaten ranks. The Wolf Pack's long road journey -- Nevada is in the midst of 25 days between home games -- continues Sunday against Grand Canyon.

The 9-0 start is the best in Nevada's Division I era, which began with the 1969-70 season.

The Wolf Pack's Jordan Caroline was named Player of the Game after finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds, leading the Pack in both categories. He moved into 14th place on Nevada's career scoring list with 1,344 points, passing Gary Hill-Thomas (1,340).

Second-half team

Nevada head coach Eric Musselman and the four teams he has led have all taken great pride in being strong second-half teams. That was evident again Friday, when the Wolf Pack looked like a different team following the halftime break.

Playing with a noticeable increase in energy, Nevada’s improvement was most apparent in shooting the ball. The Wolf Pack improved its accuracy in all three departments (from the floor, from the 2-point area, and from the free-throw line), including shooting 56.7 percent overall, as compared to 32 percent in the first half.

Nevada also took better care of the ball, going from 10 turnovers in the first half to just one in the second.

“Tonight, uncharacteristically, in the first half -- 10 turnovers; we usually have seven or eight in a game,” Musselman said. “Once we got the lead … we feel very, very comfortable under 6 minutes when we have a lead. They (Pack players) did a phenomenal job of milking the clock and playing the percentages down the stretch.”

Road warriors

The Wolf Pack won its fifth straight game away from Lawlor Events Center, and this one came in the team’s first experience this season in an NBA arena. Nevada does not play again at home until Dec. 15 against South Dakota State.

So far on its road journey, Nevada has beaten Tulsa, Massachusetts, Loyola Chicago, USC, and Arizona State, teams with a combined record of 29-11 in games not involving the Pack.

“There’s not many teams that play away from home six straight games,” Musselman said. “I challenge anybody to look at any of the top 35-40 teams in the country and see if any of them have played six games away from their building (by Sunday).”

3s don’t fall

Nevada had a dismal long-range shooting night overall, although it helped that Arizona State wasn’t much better.

The Wolf Pack connected on three of its 18 3-point attempts (16.7 percent), including hitting just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first half.

One of its second-half makes was huge, though. Caleb Martin hit a 3-pointer with 9:06 to play that gave Nevada a 51-48 lead, its first time on top since the first possession of the game. The Wolf Pack never trailed after Martin’s 3.

Wolf Pack notes

Musselman won his 90th game at Nevada, tying Pat Foster (1993-99) for the eighth spot in career wins with the Pack.

Nevada trailed by a season-high 12 points at halftime, 36-24.

Friday's game was the first time this season the Pack did not win by double-figures.

In the earlier games at Staples Center, Saint Mary's beat New Mexico, 85-60, and TCU pounded USC, 96-61.